JEON Kyung-Wook

SESSION Ⅱ PHYSICAL TECHNIQUES AND RELIGIOUS PERFORMING ARTS: Movements of Man and Kashira Puppet Related with Religious Rituals Physical Techniques Displayed by Divine Characters in Korean Mask Dramas JEON Kyung-Wook 1. Introduction Physical techniques employed in India’s Kathakali, China’s Beijing opera and Japan’s Noh are so highly systematized that an actor can express the whole gamut of emotions and situations with his countenance and gestures. In contrast, Korean mask dramas do not have methodized physical techniques. Yet, the performances of the divine characters in the dramas mirror the physical techniques used by the characters’ ancestral forms. This study aims to gain deeper insights into the physical techniques exhibited by divine characters in Korean mask dramas, including how they act and convey their feelings to the audience. The divine characters have their roots in either traditional rites or exorcism rituals called Narye. This study reveals the genesis of divine beings in extant mask dramas and explores the physical techniques displayed by each character in connection with its origin. An in-depth look at these characters will illuminate how Korean mask dramas evolved from religious performances into theatrical art forms. 2. Physical techniques displayed by divine characters originating from traditional rites The Korean people settled in the Korean Peninsula and neighboring southern Manchuria about two millennia ago. They observed two types of rituals: agricultural rites to pray for a bountiful harvest, and religious rites. The Puyo, Koguryo and Ye states, which spanned the northern part of the peninsula, had religious rituals called Yonggo, Tongmaeng and Muchon, respectively. Meanwhile, people in the Mahan confederation, which covered the southwestern part of the peninsula, performed agricultural rites and worshipped gods in May, when the fi elds had been sown, and in October at the end of the harvest season. Dongje, a rite in which people sing, dance and play instruments to pay tribute to a local tutelary god, is strikingly reminiscent of ancient religious rituals described in the chapter “Dongyizhuan” of “Sanguo Zhi,” a chronicle of China’s Three Kingdoms compiled in the third century. Today’s Dongje, a village ritual, preserves the purpose and function of ancient religious rites, which were national events. How people in the early Joseon period（ 1392-1910） celebrated Dongje is illustrated in the chapter on Goseong, South Gyeongsang Province, in Volume 32 of “Sinjeung Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam,” a 16th-century book on Korean geography. On the other hand, a glimpse into Dongje in the late Joseon Dynasty is provided by “Dongguksesigi,” a book on traditional seasonal events published in the 19th century. Its chapter “December” refers to the custom in Goseong, Gangwon Province, including the Dongje conducted in the region at the year-end. In Dongje, the book says, villagers called forth their guardian god at a local shrine and performed, visiting not only the village offi ce but also people’s houses. It should be noted that, in this ritual, the god was represented by a mask. Similarly, in Hahoe Village, Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, which is famous for its Hahoe Pyolshin-gut T’al-nori mask drama, the local tutelary deity is symbolized by a mask. These facts suggest that the masks of guardian gods used in Maeul-gut-nori（“ performance in Dongje”） acted 55 SESSION Ⅱ PHYSICAL TECHNIQUES AND RELIGIOUS PERFORMING ARTS: Movements of Man and Kashira Puppet Related with Religious Rituals as a catalyst for creating mask dramas. Among extant mask dramas, Hahoe Pyolshin-gut T’al-nori and the Gangneung Gwanno Mask Drama of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, were originally performed as part of rituals to pray for an abundant harvest. The divine characters in these dramas are derived from traditional rites that Koreans have passed down from ancient times. （1） Kakshi Kakshi, the tutelary goddess of Hahoe Village, is a masked character in Hahoe Pyolshin-gut T’al-nori. According to legend, she married into a family in this village, but as her husband died soon after marriage, she lived alone for the rest of her life. After her death, she became the guardian of the village. Most Kakshi masks have an impassive face brimming with han, or deep sorrow. The lips are closed tight, and the eyes look down. Hahoe Pyolshin-gut T’al-nori is a big village festival usually conducted once a decade ̶ it can be held only when an oracle is received. The festival starts with prayer at a village shrine perched on a hill: people ask the local deity to descend to the shrine. Then, they walk down the hill, with the Mudong Dance（ a dance performed on the shoulders of a person） performed by a dancer wearing the mask of Kakshi. This dance serves to manifest the presence of the deity (Photo1). Standing on the shoulders of another performer, Kakshi asks spectators for donations. She never talks to people. She just looks down at them and moves her hand as if to bless the village and villagers. After all these rites, the t’al-nori（“ mask drama”） is staged. （2） Jangjamari Jangjamari appears in Scene 1 of the Gangneung Gwanno Mask Drama, which has been performed at the Gangneung Danoje Festival at the beginning of May. At the opening of the drama, two Jangjamaris enter the stage, tidying it up and chasing other performers out of it. This action symbolizes the purifi cation of the stage. Next, they move in opposite directions and circle halfway around the stage, jumping vigorously. As they meet again at the center of the stage, they hit their bulging bellies against each other’s several times. When one falls on its back, it is mounted by the other Jangjamari. This performance suggests sexual activity. Energetic movements of Jangjamari are designed to exorcise evil spirits and boost the village’s vitality. Meanwhile, the crops and malchi seaweed attached to the costume of Jangjamari, the big belly（ which symbolizes pregnancy and thus abundance）, and the sexual movements refl ect the Danoje Festival’s purpose: to pray for a bountiful harvest of crops and fi sh (Photo2). （3） Sisiddagddagi Sisiddagddagis appear in the Gangneung Gwanno Mask Drama. Their masks are white, with dots and lines painted in various colors, and have fi erce countenances. They wear loose black robes, which are made of hemp and have wide sleeves. Each Sisiddagddagi holds a red stick（ or a sword） in his hand. The horrible masks and the sticks embody the menace that Sisiddagddagis pose. In the drama, as Yangban（ aristocrat） and his bride Somaegakshi enjoy dancing and playing together, two 57 SESSION Ⅱ PHYSICAL TECHNIQUES AND RELIGIOUS PERFORMING ARTS: Movements of Man and Kashira Puppet Related with Religious Rituals Sisiddagddagis try to break up the couple. The Sisiddagddagis thrust their right legs forward and stretch out their right arms to wave the sticks as if brandishing swords. Finally, they wrest Somaegakshi from Yangban （Photo 3）. Standing in front of Yangban and threatening him with the sticks, they try to keep Somaegakshi away from Yangban. In the end, however, Yangban fends off the Sisiddagddagis and is reunited with his bride. This story seems to have symbolic signifi cance: the Sisiddagddagis capturing Somaegakshi indicates that she catches a plague; and as Yangban rescues her, she is healed. This parallels the famous Korean myth of Cheoyong, in which Cheoyong, a son of the sea dragon king, saves his human wife, warding off a god of disease who has seduced her. 3. Physical techniques displayed by divine characters originating from Narye Narye is an exorcism ritual originating in China. The fi rst record of the introduction of Narye to Korea is found in a document written in 1040, which was during the reign of King Jeongjong of the Koryo Dynasty （918-1392）. Yet, this description only refers to Narye as a royal ritual, and Narye performed in local communities may have been brought to Korea before 1040. Narye was conducted at the end of the year. At the palace, municipal offices, and local communities, people wore masks, held ritual implements, chanted incantations, and made chasing gestures to expel the evil spirits of the old year. At the end of the Koryo Dynasty, the entertainment part of Narye carried more weight than its exorcism aspects, and people started to call Narye “Naryehi” or “Nahi,” which literally means “Narye performance.” This trend accelerated in the Joseon Dynasty, so much so that people performed Narye as entertainment. In the Koryo Dynasty, Narye was carried out by 24 Jinja children, 12 Jipsaja house stewards, 22 Goingin （one of whom acted as Pangsangshi, a central figure in expelling evil spirits, and another as a Chansa chanter）, and 20 Gogakkun consisting of four people carrying flagpoles, four people playing the tungso vertical fl ute, and 12 people carrying drums. In the ritual, they expelled evil spirits. In his poem “Kunahaen,” Confucian scholar Lee Saek（ 1328-1396） portrays the performances after a Narye. They included the Obang Gwi Dance（ dance of fi ve demons）, the lion dance, fi re-breathing, sword- swallowing, acrobatics by tribes of western China, tightrope-walking, the Cheoyong Dance and a mask performance by actors mimicking various animals. Lee’s poem indicates that these performances included appearances by divine characters such as the fi ve demons in the Obang Gwi Dance, the lion in the lion dance, Cheoyong in the Cheoyong Dance, and an old man who spectators thought was the incarnation of the South Star. The Obang Gwi Dance evolved into the Obang Cheoyong Dance（ dance of fi ve Cheoyong） in the Joseon Dynasty and the Obang Sinjang Dance（ dance of five Sinjang deities） in today’s mask dramas.（“ Obang” means “fi ve directions,” which consist of the four cardinal points of the compass and the center.） The lion dance developed into Bukcheong Saja-nori, which is the lion dance of Bukcheong in South Hamgyong Province, present-day North Korea.

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